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Working for Racial Justice – Learning through Conversations by Tom Adams 

Working for Racial Justice – Learning through Conversations by Tom Adams 

by | Apr 26, 2022 |

This week I am continuing to explore concrete recommendations from author Eric Deggans about daily actions that advance our commitment to be anti-racist. In his article Not Racist is not Enough: Putting in the Work to be Anti-Racist, the first tip is about “accepting that we’ve all been raised in a society that elevates white culture over others.” In last week’s post, I looked at how we each might conduct a racial justice self-examination to advance our awareness and motivate personal change.

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Working for Racial Justice – Learning through Conversations by Tom Adams 

Concrete actions for racial justice: self-examination

by | Apr 19, 2022 | ,

In last week’s post, I invited readers to share what they have learned about working for racial justice in the nearly two years since George Floyd was murdered.  I shared some resources which I have found helpful, including an NPR podcast/article by Eric Deggans. In his article, “Not Racist is not Enough: Putting in the Work to be Anti-Racist,” Deggans is very concrete. He offers four practical tips below that I’ll explore in this and future posts:

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 What Have We Learned About Increasing Racial Equity? 

 What Have We Learned About Increasing Racial Equity? 

by | Apr 12, 2022 |

We will soon reach the 2nd anniversary of the heinous murder of George Floyd. This murder was so ugly and wrong that even white folks noticed – at least some of us did. Somehow, we had been able to overlook countless atrocious murders of Black and Brown and Native peoples for years, even generations. In last week’s post, Tim Leadem reminded us about the atrocious deaths at the Canadian Training Schools, operated by the Catholic Church.

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The Quest for Justice in the aftermath of Residential Schools for Indigenous Communities in Canada

The Quest for Justice in the aftermath of Residential Schools for Indigenous Communities in Canada

by | Apr 5, 2022 | ,

In May 2021, the remains of 215 children were discovered on the grounds of a former residential school near Kamloops, British Columbia.  The gruesome discovery shocked many Canadians and confirmed what many indigenous leaders and people had been telling Canadians for decades-namely, that residential schools, many of which were operated by Christian denominations were and remain a tragedy of misplaced policies that sought to bring indigenous communities within the mainstream of Canadian life.  Instead, residential schools removed children from their homes and parents and became a mechanism for discouraging the culture and language of indigenous communities.  The Truth and Reconciliation Committee of Canada labeled the whole history of residential schools a form of cultural genocide.  The treatment of indigenous people in subjecting them to the trauma of residential schools that started in 1879 and lasted until the mid 1990s is a deep stain upon the Canadian psyche.

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Women leaders working for justice

Women leaders working for justice

by | Mar 29, 2022 | ,

Last week I wrote about Lois Wilson as an example of an amazing little-known woman leader. I hadn’t planned to have more to say about women leaders in the month celebrating women in history and our daily lives. Then, a friend of mine, Lois Rosado, wrote an article for our local Greenbelt News Review (March 17, 2022) entitled Names Not Frequently Mentioned as part of the paper’s series on Women History. Lois moved to Greenbelt from New York where she had the opportunity to be involved with Bayard Rustin and other civil rights leaders and serves as a leader of numerous efforts both to educate about racial disparities and to work for change.

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Facing a Disability – One Person’s Journey

Facing a Disability – One Person’s Journey

by | Mar 15, 2022 | ,

My life as a physically disabled person has become my primary justice issue. My disability is a spinal cord injury and I use a wheelchair to live independently. I was born and raised in Japan and lived in an institution from age 4 to 10 years old. After leaving the institution, I attended a special school for the disabled kids for twelve years. The school was not integrated in that, though I was living at home, I was still segregated from mainstream society.

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 Learning about structural racism: One woman’s journey

 Learning about structural racism: One woman’s journey

by | Feb 22, 2022 |

Until 2012, I didn’t know better. I thought that the civil rights legislation of the 1960s had leveled the playing field. I thought, I, as a Black woman, had opportunities to succeed equal to anyone in America. I was living in an illusion, thinking that some people just didn’t try hard enough, and others needed more education. I believed in a meritocracy. I thought if you dressed a certain way, got a certain level of education, talked a certain way, you could, no, you would get ahead in America. Then Trayvon Martin happened.

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About Tom Adams

Tom AdamsTom Adams writes and speaks on topics vital to the intersection of our personal lives with our community and global lives. He has for decades been engaged in and written about nonprofit leadership and transitions, spirituality and spiritual growth, how we each contribute to a more just and equitable world and recovery from addictions and the Twelve Step recovery movement.